Invoice fraud scams continue to target businesses of all sizes and industries, with experts warning of a major spike in various iterations of business email compromise scams.
One of the latest high-profile cases was revealed this week from Barbara Corcoran, an entrepreneur best known for her position on startup investment television show “Shark Tank.”
Reports in People this week said Corcoran lost nearly $400,000 to an invoice scam and confirmed that she will not be able to recover the funds.
“I lost the $388,700 as a result of a fake email chain sent to my company,” she told the publication. “It was an invoice supposedly sent by my assistant to my bookkeeper approving the payment for a real estate renovation. There was no reason to be suspicious as I invest in a lot of real estate.”
Her experience is increasingly common among businesses as cyberattackers deploy more sophisticated tactics to steal company cash by infiltrating accounts payable processes.